


It Was the Best of Times, the Worst of Crimes

by haaaveyoumetted



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: (MILD gun violence), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, F/M, Gun Violence, Love at First Sight, Meet the Family, Meet-Cute, Mutual Pining, Protectiveness, Rich Ben Solo, Robbery, idk how to tag, inspired by a twitter prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23359450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haaaveyoumetted/pseuds/haaaveyoumetted
Summary: Loosely based off of the Curious Cat prompt: Rey and Ben meet while in line at the bank, but their meet-cute is interrupted when they suddenly find themselves in a hostage situation as the bank is being robbed. BONUS: the robbers catch them flirting and totally ship them.ORRey and Ben (literally) run into each other in the lobby of the Organa-Solo Corporate Center but their meet-cute is interrupted by chaos and gunfire and they find themselves running for cover together. BONUS: the robbers catch them and totally ship them.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 10
Kudos: 157
Collections: Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts)





	It Was the Best of Times, the Worst of Crimes

**Author's Note:**

> I've been trying to get this one out for DAYS but being productive has just been so hard lately. Idk if I'm 100% happy with how this turned out, but I hope you guys like it!

Rey took a deep breath and glanced up at the seemingly endlessly tall building in front of her. She craned her neck up and up and up, following it higher until it disappears into the clouds that had been hanging around most of the week, refusing to let the sunshine peek through for more than an hour or so at a time. The gloomy weather certainly hadn't been doing anything to help calm her nerves. This was a _big_ opportunity for her- the biggest she'd ever been given. She'd spent months tirelessly searching for a position like this, and one had finally opened up when she desperately needed it. 

But she couldn't afford to think of it that way. It would only make her nerves worse. 

Finally gathering enough confidence to walk inside, she pulled one of the large glass doors toward her and walked inside, her mouth falling open slightly as she scans the interior for the first time. Spotless white marble covers the floors, accented by large wooden panels covering the walls in [various shade](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2e/67/77/2e67773c606d24638cffefc62fbff969.jpg)s. 'Organa-Solo Corporate Center' was displayed in large white letters against the darker wood panels. There was stylish black leather furniture spaced throughout the room, leading back to large wooden reception desk that cut off the general public from accessing the elevators behind them. 

She swallowed thickly and concentrated on the click of her heels as she made her way towards the reception desk, trying to block out everything else around her.

... which is _probably_ why she ran directly into something- _someone._

She felt herself starting to lose her balance slightly, but quickly regained it, large hands around both of her arms holding her steady. "I am _so_ sorry I-" The words died on her lips as she glanced up the man who still hadn't removed his hands from her body. He was not necessarily a conventionally handsome man, but he was _exactly Rey's type_ and her ability to form sentences had abandoned her completely. 

There was a glint of concern in his eyes as he looked down at her, his hands still radiating heat where they remained on her arms. "No, it's fine. I- I wasn't really- are you alright?" 

Rey could feel herself getting lost in his warm brown eyes; they almost looked hazel at a glance. She wasn't sure what color they actually were... but she could stare at them for hours and probably still not know. What she _did_ know was that they were focused completely on her and her alone. It was slightly overwhelming, to say the least. 

"I-I'm fine, I just... clearly wasn't paying as much attention as I should've been." She replied, a breathy laugh spilling from her lips. 

'Honestly, I wasn't either" He admitted, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "So I think we can share the blame on that one." 

She felt herself smiling back at him; _grinning_ was probably a more appropriate word. She knew she was not playing it cool at all. Not even slightly. She hoped desperately that her smile was more charming than manic. "Why do I have a feeling you're just saying that to make me feel better? I have been known to get lost in my own little world..." 

His smile widened, his gaze never wavering from hers. "I'm usually running on autopilot when I'm in this building. It usually doesn't require a lot of my attention to navigate it without incident. It's entirely possible that this is my fault completely." 

"I guess I can't argue with that", Rey replied, subconsciously licking her lips. His eyes flickered down to track the movement for a millisecond before making eye contact with her again. "It's my first time in this building, so I probably threw off your whole routine just by being here." 

He reached up to run a hand through his impeccably styled hair, pausing for a moment when he realized his other hand was still gently holding her arm. He quickly dropped it to his side, a bright flush working it's way up his cheeks. "Would it be strange if I said I'm glad that you did? Disrupt my routine, I mean" 

Rey shook her head, trying to formulate an appropriate answer, when the energy in the room changed in an instant. A series of loud _bangs_ rang through the room and everyone started to scramble every which way. She frantically looked around, trying to get some sort of bearing on the situation. 

"EVERYBODY DOWN ON THE GROUND!" Someone shouted as more shots rang out from somewhere near the entrance. 

The man grabbed Rey's arm and tugged her along as he ran further from the entrance, dodging the frantic people that ran into their path as he lead them behind the reception desk. They ducked down as low as they could and tried to control their heavy breathing. Rey knew they needed to be as quiet as possible, even though she was completely panicking on the inside. She caught his eyes and he brought a finger to his lips. She nodded in understanding. She strained to hear what was being said above all of the chaos that was still unfolding. 

There was muffled shouting, disguised by the screaming, but there hadn't been any more shots fired so far. She really _really_ hoped the guns were a care tactic and that no one was actually going to get hurt. She'd finally made enough progress where she was only going to therapy every few months instead of every week. If she had to watch someone die- or even just get shot... she knew she'd probably crumble. 

" _What are we going to do? There's nowhere we can go, but they're definitely going to find us if we stay back here_ " Rey whispered, leaning closer to make sure he could hear her. 

He leaned in a bit closer, bringing a hand up to rest on her shoulder, slowly sliding up the back of her neck as he spoke- as if what something he'd done a hundred times before that moment. " _It'll be okay. I know it doesn't seem like we're safe here but at least we're not out in the open_." He replied, his tone calm and reassuring. He absentmindedly began rubbing circles where his hand rest, soothing some of the tension in her body. " _It shouldn't be too long before the police show up and-_ "

"And what do we have going on back here?!" 

They both flinched as a loud voice from somewhere above interrupted their intimate moment, both knowing it could only mean one thing. They'd been caught. _Fuck._

Rey reluctantly turned to look up, only to find two men with guns staring down at them. Their faces were covered in black ski masks, the smiles on their faces hard to miss regardless. 

"Looks like we're interrupting something here... which is a shame." The man teased, shaking his head. "I hate to break up something so sweet... but wrong place, wrong time and all that." He continued with a shrug. "Grab her... what do you want to do with this one?" 

Before Rey could really process what was happening, the man who had been silent so far lunged forward, grabbing her arm roughly and pulling her to stand. She nearly tripped over herself, the way he righted her not anywhere near as gently as _he_ had. It struck her with overwhelming panic as she realized she'd never even gotten his _name._ What if she never got the chance now? She was being manhandled by a man with an _actual gun_ and it was not knowing this mystery man's name that was occupying her thoughts completely. She must be losing it. 

The slight pain of him gripping her arm tighter to pull her away from the reception desk snapped her back into reality. 

"I suppose I could just finish him off.. but I know we agreed to not make a huge mess of this one. Maybe I'll just tie him up- keep on eye on him..." 

"... wait... hold on, I.. feel like I've seen him somewhere before. What's your name?" The man asked, all of the attention now on her mystery man. 

He looked back at the man, no emotion on his face. It seemed as if he was debating whether or not to divulge the information. 

"I said", the main continued, pointing the gun in his face this time. "What is your name?" 

Rey felt her heart pounding in her chest, anxiety rushing through her veins. The last time she'd felt this helpless had been at least ten years ago, when she was still bargaining for food in foster homes. "Please don't hurt him!" She blurted out. 

All men turned to look at her as soon as the words left her mouth. She had no idea where they had come from. She didn't even know she was going to say something, but she couldn't stop herself. She was terrified. 

The man who had the gun pointed at him chuckled. "All he has to do is tell us his name.. we don't _want_ to hurt him. That's not what we're here for..." 

He still refused to tell them, not saying a word, even with the gun still in his face. 

"Fine, if you won't tell us... maybe your lady here will. She seems a bit more willing to cooperate." 

Rey's eyes widened as the man gripping her arm pulled her against his body, gun raised to the side of her face. She refused to flinch as she felt to cold metal pressing against her hair. 

"Tell us his name, sweetheart." The man goaded. She could feel his breath against the back of her neck, sending a shiver through her body. "We don't want to hurt anybody.. we just need to get what we came for..." 

She could feel herself starting to shake "I-...."

Rey had no idea what she was supposed to do in this situation. She could simply make up a name, hoping he'd go along with it.. or she could attempt to tell the truth? Which would probably sound like a lie. She had a feeling they wouldn't believe that they didn't really know each other; not when they were convinced she could help them. 

"Ben" he said calmly. "My name is Ben." 

Rey felt some of the tension seeping from her body, knowing she wouldn't have to make that decision anymore. Her heart rate slowed considerably as she felt the absence of the cold metal against her head. But she knew this wasn't over- far from it- from the way the men were looking at him now. 

The one who seemed to be calling the shots laughed, shaking his head. "See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?" 

"I knew I recognized him from somewhere... this son of a bitch is Ben Solo. His parents own this whole fucking building." the other man interjected. 

"No shit?" His accomplice replied. "Well then, looks like we've hit the jackpot. Make sure you keep hold of his girl, he won't want anything happening to her." 

Rey felt her brain short-circuiting as she tried to process the information being thrown around. She had been hopelessly flirting with _Ben Solo._ His name was on the _fucking building_ that she was trying to get an entry level job at, and how she was possibly putting one of the most important and recognizable figures - other than to her, apparently- in the publishing field in danger. The day had seemed to start off so well, and now at the very least she was absolutely going to start her job search from scratch, all over again. And that was if things here ended _well._

She couldn't bear to let herself dwell on the alternatives. 

The grip on her tightened considerably, now that the man believed he was holding onto precious cargo that could be used as a bargaining tool. Ben had seemed nice enough during the few minutes they spent talking- extremely charming, to say the least- but she couldn't bring herself to believe that he would put this entire building full of people and his parents' business empire at risk for some girl he just met. She was a nobody in the grand scheme of all this, and she had to be realistic about the situation. 

Ben finally stood from where he had been crouching on the floor, towering over the man with the gun as he reached his full height. "What is it you want, exactly? You've clearly brought all this chaos into my building for a reason." He wasn't messing around anymore. He didn't have the patience to drag this out, but he knew he needed to be careful until the police arrived. 

"We want access. To all floors of the building, and to the computer systems." The man replied, his gun still trained at Ben's chest. "And you being here in the lobby makes that so much easier than we could've hoped for." 

"You know I can't just give you unrestricted access to our computer systems. A gun pointed at me doesn't change that. This company is bigger than me." Ben replied, eerily calm in the face of danger. 

The man laughed. "I like you _Ben._ You're at least _trying_ to make this a challenge and I can appreciate that." He took a step closer before continuing. "I figured this might be the case. That we'd have to find something more important- something you wouldn't be able to sacrifice so easily- and _somehow_ we got lucky again, walking in on your little moment." He said with a nasty, challenging smirk. "You may not value your own life, but I'm sure you don't want to watch us put a bullet in her head." He threatened, gesturing back towards Rey.

She felt the chill of the metal coming in contact with her face again and tried to keep herself from trembling. She wasn't expecting Ben to put his company at risk for her- _knew_ that he couldn't. At least her death would come with the satisfaction of knowing they wouldn't win. She wasn't the bargaining chip they'd wrongfully assumed she was, and they'd have to try and find another way to break his resolve. She had a feeling that wouldn't come easily, and she couldn't imagine they could actually risk killing him- especially since he was their only way to get what they wanted. 

Rey's eyes were carefully trained on Ben, waiting to see what his next move will be. For the first time since all of this started, his eyes meet hers and his jaw clenches. "I'll take you where you want to go- but she comes with us. If she leaves my sight, the deal is off. I need to know she's safe." 

Rey gasped, words tumbling from her lips before she registers she's even started talking. "Ben, don't do this..."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He insisted, his eyes never leaving hers. 

"And we can promise you, nothing will happen to your lovely lady. Just cooperate and everyone gets out of here unharmed. Trust me, the last thing I want to do is interfere with what you two have going on here." The man assured, glancing between the two. He turned to address Rey, and before she can fully comprehend what's happening, Ben knocked him to the ground with a precision she's only ever seen in films. He's got the man's gun in his hand, pointing it at the man that's still gripping her like his life depends on it. Thinking about it, at this point, it probably does. 

"Put the gun down and step away from her" Ben calmly commanded, his hands steady as his aim never wavers. 

The man doesn't move, or respond and the seconds of silence tick by so slowly. 

The trance is broken by the sound of police sirens in the street and Ben takes advantage of his slight lapse in concentration, shooting the man in the shoulder. He drops to the ground with a cry, the gun clattering to the floor beside him. Rey rushes to pick it up stumbling her way over to stand next to Ben. He wastes no time wrapping an arm around her and bringing her as close as possible, while still keeping a gun aimed at the wounded man. The other gunman was, thankfully, still knocked out at their feet. 

They hear police shouting as they enter the lobby, making a sweep and taking stock of the situation. They quickly reach the back of the lobby where Ben and Rey are standing and Ben slowly places the gun in his hand on the reception desk as they approach. 

"You two okay?" one of the officers asked, as two other men step in and remove the gunmen at their feet from the area. 

Rey can only bring herself to nod and Ben replied, "All good back here, thank you." 

"Glad to hear it, Mr. Solo. Your parents are out front and they're not very happy that we haven't let them in to find you.. your mother, especially."

Ben laughed, shaking his head. "I guess I should go check in with them, get them out of your hair so you can do your job. Are we clear to exit the building?" 

The officer nodded, "If we need anything more from you, we know where to find you." 

Ben nods back, offering his thanks, and pulls Rey into his chest as the officer walks away. A few seconds of comfortable silence pass and she melts into his body, her arms wrapping around his neck and his arms tighten around her waist. "Are you okay?" He whispers into her ear. 

She nods against his chest, reluctant to pull away. "I think so. Just a bit shaken up." 

"That's more than understandable." Ben replied. He pulls away from her slightly to look her in the eyes. "You want to head outside? Get a bit of fresh air?" 

Rey nodded, "Yeah, that's... that sound good. Besides, your parents are probably worried sick. And I should probably call my friends." 

"I'm never going to hear the end of this" Ben groaned, resting his head on top of hers briefly. "They already overreact to everything- my mother especially- and this is certainly not going to help with that." 

Rey laughed. "I get that. My friends are going to make such a fuss. They're extremely protective and... this is probably one of their worst nightmares coming true." 

She can feel him smile against her head, and she feels herself smiling as well, despite everything that just unfolded over the last 20 minutes or so. 

He pulls back a few seconds later, his arm winding around her waist as they made their way towards the front of the building. Ben stopped abruptly about half way there, as a startled laugh spilled out of him. "This-... I feel like you and I just shared a moment that most people will, hopefully, never experience in their lifetime. I was scared out of my mind that they were going to do something to you because of me... and I still don't even know your name." 

Rey laughed as well and replied, "Rey Johnson. Nice to meet you, Mr. Solo." 

Ben smiled, his eyes scanning her face before settling back on her eyes. "Rey. Nice to meet you too. And please, just Ben is fine. No need for the formalities." He offered. 

As they made their way out of the front doors, reality of the situation started to sink in again for Rey. The entire block is closed off, police cars and emergency vehicles lining the street. She takes a few deep breaths, trying to not let it overwhelm her completely. 

"Ben!" A woman's voice cuts through the noise of the crowd, capturing both of their attention. "BENJAMIN ORGANA-SOLO!" 

Ben groaned and Rey bites her lip to keep from laughing. It doesn't take long before the crowd parts and a very small woman appears in their line of vision, a man following behind her dutifully like he's been doing it his whole life. 

When she reaches them, she flings her arms around Ben and he bends down to accommodate for the height difference. Rey uses this moment - this very intimate, private family moment- to excuse herself to go call her friends. She walked a few feet away, pulled her phone out of her pocket, and tried to ignore that her hand shook slightly as she did. It didn't take her long to find Rose's number and hit 'call'. 

A few rings later and Rose was on the other line. "Hey Rose!"

"Rey! What's up babe? How was your interview?" Rose chirped cheerfully. 

Rey winced, knowing this conversation was not going to go over well. "Actually.. I never quite made it there. I don't want you to panic, because I'm _completely fine_ but there ended up being a robbery basically two minutes after I walked into the building..."

"A WHAT?!" Rose shrieked. Rey pulled the phone away from her ear slightly. "Rey what the fuck?! What happened!? Is everyone okay?!"

Rey sighed and ran a hand over her face tiredly. "I think so? It seems like it from what I can tell. It's all still a bit of a mess, but I just wanted to give you a heads up because I don't know how long I'll be here and I didn't want you to see it on the news first." 

"I want to hear all about this later, okay? No bottling it up. I'm here when you want to talk about it. I even have a bottle of wine left that we can split." Rose replied.

Rey smiled easily, feeling so lucky to have a best friend and roommate like Rose. "Deal. I will definitely take you up on that one." 

"Good. Well, I should probably let you go so you can deal with whatever you need to so they can let you go. Be safe, okay?" 

Rey nodded, despite knowing Rose couldn't see her. "I will, I promise. I'll see you later tonight." 

Rose said her goodbyes and Rey hung up the phone and slid it back into her pocket. She turned back towards where Ben and his parents had been standing, surprised to find they were still right where she left them. Mrs. Solo-Organa caught her eye as she was staring and offered a friendly smile. Rey smiled back as best she could manage. Ben turned to see who his mother was looking at and his whole face softened as his eyes met hers. He turned back to his parents briefly before he turned again and walked over towards her. 

"You let your friends know you're okay?" Ben asked, running a hand through his hair. 

"Yeah, all good there." Rey replied. "Just gave them the absolute basics for the time being. I don't quite feel like reliving it all over again right this second." 

Ben nodded. "You and me both. I gave my parents enough details to get them off my back, but I know they'll want to talk about it more later." 

A comfortable silence fell between them, neither of them looking away from each other, despite everything that continued to unfold around them. 

Ben blew out a deep breath that it seemed he'd been holding in and spoke, "Rey... I know this is probably the worst possible place and time to do this.. but I feel like before all of this" he gestured all around them vaguely, "happened.. I was somehow getting to hold your attention for more than five seconds in a very busy lobby, when clearly you had other things to be doing than talking to me." Ben rambled slightly. "What I'm trying to say is... well, would you maybe want to grab dinner with me sometime?" 

Rey felt her mouth drop open slightly at his question. She had assumed the innocent flirting that had started to happen before everything had been completely ruined. That he wouldn't want to see her again because it would just remind him of the day his life was turned upside-down by someone who kept him in that lobby longer than he normally would have been. She had disrupted his routine and if she hadn't, he probably would've been out of the building when the gunmen showed up. 

"You.. you want to go to dinner... with me?" Rey asked, still in disbelief. 

Ben's eyes widened a fraction as he responded. "I know that the whole situation in there got away from us in there.. and I completely understand if you're not interested.. I just.. I know I would regret it if I let you slip away after all this without even trying." 

Rey felt herself smiling at his admission, knowing she felt the same way. "I'd love to, Ben." 

The answering smile she received from him in return made her heart flutter in ways she'd never experienced before. She knew without a doubt she already had a ridiculous, massive crush on Ben Solo. The moment she locked eyes with him in that lobby for the first time, she stood no chance of just walking away from whatever this was. For once, she was excited to find out. 


End file.
